Wednesday, August 2 marks to be planet the “day of the overtaking” (“overshoot day” in English). “From this date, the world’s population will have consumed all the resources that the planet can renew in one year,” write Global Footprint and the WWF in a joint statement.

In 1970, the “day of overtaking” did not occur until December 23rd. But since then, his date has steadily declined: November 3 in 1980, October 13 in 1990, October 4 in 2000, September 3 in 2005, August 28 in 2010. In 2014, he had intervened on August 17. As you can see, the “day of overtaking” occurs earlier and earlier, a sign of consumption that is more and more out of step with available resources. Thus the natural process of depleting the planet’s resources is accelerating.

“By 2030, there is a risk of overconsumption in June,” said in 2015 to AFP Pierre Cannet, head of energy / climate at WWF France. For 2017, the fateful date is set for August 2nd. Beyond this, humanity will have to live “on credit” with its natural resources. “This means that in seven months we have emitted more carbon than oceans and forests can not absorb in a year, we have fished more fish, cut more trees, harvested more and consumed more water. that the Earth can not produce during the same period, “reads this report. To give you an idea, researchers now estimate that nearly two Earth planets would be needed to produce enough for the sole purpose of meeting the needs of humanity at current consumption rates.

The NGOs take into account for their calculations the carbon footprint, the resources consumed for fishing, intensive farming, crops, construction and water. But “individuals can help slow down and why not reverse the trend by eating less meat, burning less fuel and reducing food waste,” says the report. “If we reduce our CO2 emissions by 30%” from their current level, “the day of the overrun will be reduced to 16 September by 2030.”

“To meet our needs, we need the equivalent of 1.7 planet”

In its calculations, Global Footprint notably takes into account the carbon footprint, resources consumed for fishing, livestock farming, crops, construction and water use.

“To meet our needs, today we need the equivalent of 1.7 planet,” they say. “The cost of this overconsumption is already visible: water shortages, desertification, soil erosion, decline in agricultural productivity and fish stocks, deforestation, loss of species. Living on credit can only be temporary because nature is not a pool from which we can draw indefinitely, “say WWF and Global Footprint.

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